Mitigation hit a wall Tuesday.
Climate hawks may shift their focus to Adaptation.

Adaptation versus MitigationTwo days after the election, I’ve contacted several of the big non-profits that have been laboring to persuade us and our Washington lawmakers to take actions to slow global warming. That effort seems to have come to naught, thanks both to the Republican takeover in Washington and the voter sentiment behind it.

Several organizations confirmed they are re-examining their climate change strategies post-Obama. One likely adjustment is a shift in focus from slowing warming to protecting against its effects, that is from Mitigation to Adaptation. Not only would they be stepping back into the realm of the possible – building resilience with locally-controlled efforts to climate-proof neighborhoods and families – but by helping Americans learn about their own personal costs from warming, they might create real grassroots pressure on Washington in the process.

Please let us know if you see signs of this shift.